Paul Townend
Born in Midleton, County Cork on September 15, 1990, became apprenticed to Willie Mullins in Closutton, Bagenalstown, County Carlow as a teenager and following the retirement of Ruby Walsh on May 1, 2019 became stable jockey to the yard. Townend had already been Irish Champion National Hunt Jockey in 2010/11 and 2018/19, but since his appointment has won five more titles, in 2019/20, 2020/21, 2021/22, 2022/23 and 2024/25.
Indeed, Townend has continued to flourish at home and abroad, including at the Cheltenham Festival, where he won the leading jockey award in 2020, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025 and 2026. As far as the Cheltenham Gold Cup is concerned, prior to 2019, Mullins had never saddled the winner, despite six runner-up finishes. However, on March 15, 2019, Townend rode the stable third-string Al Boum Photo to a two-and-a-half-length victory over Anibale Fly and effectively opened the floodgates that would eventually see him become the leading jockey in the history of the Cheltenham Gold Cup.
Sent off favourite in 2020, Al Boum Photo defended his title, albeit all out to beat Santini and Lostintranslation by a neck and a length and a quarter. After a two-year hiatus, Mullins and Townend won the Cheltenham Gold Cup again, this time with Galopin Des Champs, who likewise justified favouritism with a 7-length win over Bravemansgame. Like Al Boum Photo, Galopin Des Champs defended his title in 2024, keeping on well to beat Gerri Colombe by three and a half lengths and made a brave effort to complete a hat-trick when beaten six lengths, at odds-on, by Inothewayurthinkin in 2025. Nevertheless, in 2026, Mullins and Townend won the Cheltenham Gold Cup again, with yet another favourite, Gaelic Warrior, who went clear on the run-in to beat Jango Baie by eight lengths.
Gaelic Warrior subsequently hacked up in the Punchestown Gold Cup and is currently quoted as a top-priced 9/4 favourite for the 2027 Cheltenham Gold Cup, so it would take a brave man to suggest that Townend will not be extending his impressive record by the time March 19 rolls around. Mullins has said of his stable jockey, ““What I always say about Paul is that he is just so cool, he’s especially good under pressure and there is no pressure like Gold Cup day in Cheltenham. “